Repertoire
William L. Gillock
William Gillock: A centennial
retrospective
"To provide a musically thrilling experience."
- William Gillock, on the purpose of student piano literature
I
often ask my piano pedagogy
students to take a few
moments to reflect on their
motivations for being a music
major. After all, studying music is
challenging and time consuming,
and there's no clear-cut promise
of financial riches at the end of the
path.
Most of us are able to trace
our inspiration back to musically
thrilling experiences. An astounding
performance that held us in rapture.
The realization that we could
produce these beautiful sounds
in our own playing. The euphoria
of making music with other
accomplished musicians. These
musically thrilling experiences are
what drive us, and they make our
musical lives worth living.
William Gillock may have
understood this better than
anyone. His music, in my opinion,
is pure inspiration. To students,
Gillock's music sounds like the
"real thing" and serves as an
organic stepping stone to the
great masterworks. As Gillock
himself says, "If a piece seems
worthy of the effort... the pupil is
more likely to give willingly-even
enthusiastically-the time and
thought necessary for a beautiful
performance."
In my experience, the music of
Gillock accomplishes these goals
as well as, if not better than, any
other pedagogical composer. His
pieces have motivated thousands,
and they will continue to do so,
providing both joy and satisfaction
to young musicians. On this
occasion of his 100th birthday,
Clavier Companion is honored to
pay homage to William Gillock, a
true pedagogical treasure.
-Pete Jutras
A biography of
William L. Gillock (1917-1993)
by Henry Doskey
W
illiam Lawson ("Bill") Gillock was
born July 1, 1917, on his paternal
grandparents' farm in rural Lawrence
County, Missouri, the first of two sons
of Claude M. Gillock (b. 1888) and Carroll G. Lawson
Gillock (b. 1898). A year later, the family moved to
Bowers Mill, followed later by a move of the actual
house to LaRussell, Missouri, which was precipitated
by flooding along the Spring River. LaRussell, a small
town halfway between Joplin and Springfield, then
became the home of the Gillock family. Another son,
Robert Daniel, was born in Bowers Mill April 15, 1919.
Father Claude M.
Gillock graduated from
high school in Carthage,
Missouri, and started
life after college as a
teacher. After several years of teaching, he returned
to college to study dentistry, and, after graduating,
served as LaRussell's dentist for more than fifty
years. (Robert D. Gillock also became a dentist
after serving in the Navy during World War II, and
practiced dentistry in the Veteran's Administration
in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He died in April 1978.)
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Clavier Companion
July/August 2017